Laos and Cambodia

The war in Indochina has been proved to be of one piece; it
cannot be cured by treating only one of its areas of outbreak

Address by the President,
October 7, 1970

Enduring peace will come for Vietnam only when there is peace for
its neighbors.

Hanoi has made the war an Indochina conflict. In South Vietnam
there are some one hundred thousand North Vietnamese troops. In
Laos there are about ninety thousand. In Cambodia there are over
fifty thousand North Vietnamese and Viet Cong. These troops challenge
the legitimate governments of Laos and Cambodia, and they
menace South Vietnam from within and without.
The situations in Laos and Cambodia are comparable:
Neither one poses any threat to North Vietnam.
North Vietnam, nevertheless, has for years been violating their
neutrality and independence, guaranteed in international accords
which Hanoi and its allies signed.

In both countries North Vietnamese regular troops strip away any
pretense of civil war. in Laos indigenous Pathet Lao play an insignificant
military role, while in Cambodia only small numbers of Cambodians
help the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong.

In both countries Hanoi has two aims. First, and primarily, to use
them as infiltration routes, staging bases and sanctuaries for attacks
against South Vietnam. Secondly, to erode governmental control in
order to aid their efforts in South Vietnam and perhaps take over Laos
and Cambodia themselves.